Medical imaging analysis with artificial neural networks

Given that neural networks have been widely reported in the research community of medical imaging, we provide a focused literature survey on recent neural network developments in computer-aided diagnosis, medical image segmentation and edge detection towards visual content analysis, and medical image registration for its pre-processing and post-processing, with the aims of increasing awareness of how neural networks can be applied to these areas and to provide a foundation for further research and practical development. Representative techniques and algorithms are explained in detail to provide inspiring examples illustrating: (i) how a known neural network with fixed structure and training procedure could be applied to resolve a medical imaging problem; (ii) how medical images could be analysed, processed, and characterised by neural networks; and (iii) how neural networks could be expanded further to resolve problems relevant to medical imaging. In the concluding section, a highlight of comparisons among many neural network applications is included to provide a global view on computational intelligence with neural networks in medical imaging

Understanding Physiological and Degenerative Natural Vision Mechanisms to Define Contrast and Contour Operators

BACKGROUND:Dynamical systems like neural networks based on lateral inhibition have a large field of applications in image processing, robotics and morphogenesis modeling. In this paper, we will propose some examples of dynamical flows used in image contrasting and contouring. METHODOLOGY:First we present the physiological basis of the retina function by showing the role of the lateral inhibition in the optical illusions and pathologic processes generation. Then, based on these biological considerations about the real vision mechanisms, we study an enhancement method for contrasting medical images, using either a discrete neural network approach, or its continuous version, i.e. a non-isotropic diffusion reaction partial differential system. Following this, we introduce other continuous operators based on similar biomimetic approaches: a chemotactic contrasting method, a viability contouring algorithm and an attentional focus operator. Then, we introduce the new notion of mixed potential Hamiltonian flows; we compare it with the watershed method and we use it for contouring. CONCLUSIONS:We conclude by showing the utility of these biomimetic methods with some examples of application in medical imaging and computed assisted surgery

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Prostate Cancer Patient Management-Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science that aims to build smart devices performing tasks that currently require human intelligence. Through machine learning (ML), the deep learning (DL) model is teaching computers to learn by example, something that human beings are doing naturally. AI is revolutionizing healthcare. Digital pathology is becoming highly assisted by AI to help researchers in analyzing larger data sets and providing faster and more accurate diagnoses of prostate cancer lesions. When applied to diagnostic imaging, AI has shown excellent accuracy in the detection of prostate lesions as well as in the prediction of patient outcomes in terms of survival and treatment response. The enormous quantity of data coming from the prostate tumor genome requires fast, reliable and accurate computing power provided by machine learning algorithms. Radiotherapy is an essential part of the treatment of prostate cancer and it is often difficult to predict its toxicity for the patients. Artificial intelligence could have a future potential role in predicting how a patient will react to the therapy side effects. These technologies could provide doctors with better insights on how to plan radiotherapy treatment. The extension of the capabilities of surgical robots for more autonomous tasks will allow them to use information from the surgical field, recognize issues and implement the proper actions without the need for human intervention

A survey on automated detection and classification of acute leukemia and WBCs in microscopic blood cells

Leukemia (blood cancer) is an unusual spread of White Blood Cells or Leukocytes (WBCs) in the bone marrow and blood. Pathologists can diagnose leukemia by looking at a person's blood sample under a microscope. They identify and categorize leukemia by counting various blood cells and morphological features. This technique is time-consuming for the prediction of leukemia. The pathologist's professional skills and experiences may be affecting this procedure, too. In computer vision, traditional machine learning and deep learning techniques are practical roadmaps that increase the accuracy and speed in diagnosing and classifying medical images such as microscopic blood cells. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the detection and classification of acute leukemia and WBCs in the microscopic blood cells. First, we have divided the previous works into six categories based on the output of the models. Then, we describe various steps of detection and classification of acute leukemia and WBCs, including Data Augmentation, Preprocessing, Segmentation, Feature Extraction, Feature Selection (Reduction), Classification, and focus on classification step in the methods. Finally, we divide automated detection and classification of acute leukemia and WBCs into three categories, including traditional, Deep Neural Network (DNN), and mixture (traditional and DNN) methods based on the type of classifier in the classification step and analyze them. The results of this study show that in the diagnosis and classification of acute leukemia and WBCs, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier in traditional machine learning models and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier in deep learning models have widely employed. The performance metrics of the models that use these classifiers compared to the others model are higher

Machine Learning on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering

Neutron and X-ray scattering represent two state-of-the-art materials characterization techniques that measure materials' structural and dynamical properties with high precision. These techniques play critical roles in understanding a wide variety of materials systems, from catalysis to polymers, nanomaterials to macromolecules, and energy materials to quantum materials. In recent years, neutron and X-ray scattering have received a significant boost due to the development and increased application of machine learning to materials problems. This article reviews the recent progress in applying machine learning techniques to augment various neutron and X-ray scattering techniques. We highlight the integration of machine learning methods into the typical workflow of scattering experiments. We focus on scattering problems that faced challenge with traditional methods but addressable using machine learning, such as leveraging the knowledge of simple materials to model more complicated systems, learning with limited data or incomplete labels, identifying meaningful spectra and materials' representations for learning tasks, mitigating spectral noise, and many others. We present an outlook on a few emerging roles machine learning may play in broad types of scattering and spectroscopic problems in the foreseeable future.Comment: 56 pages, 12 figures. Feedback most welcom

Machine Learning in Wireless Sensor Networks: Algorithms, Strategies, and Applications

Wireless sensor networks monitor dynamic environments that change rapidly over time. This dynamic behavior is either caused by external factors or initiated by the system designers themselves. To adapt to such conditions, sensor networks often adopt machine learning techniques to eliminate the need for unnecessary redesign. Machine learning also inspires many practical solutions that maximize resource utilization and prolong the lifespan of the network. In this paper, we present an extensive literature review over the period 2002-2013 of machine learning methods that were used to address common issues in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The advantages and disadvantages of each proposed algorithm are evaluated against the corresponding problem. We also provide a comparative guide to aid WSN designers in developing suitable machine learning solutions for their specific application challenges.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

NILM techniques for intelligent home energy management and ambient assisted living: a review

The ongoing deployment of smart meters and different commercial devices has made electricity disaggregation feasible in buildings and households, based on a single measure of the current and, sometimes, of the voltage. Energy disaggregation is intended to separate the total power consumption into specific appliance loads, which can be achieved by applying Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) techniques with a minimum invasion of privacy. NILM techniques are becoming more and more widespread in recent years, as a consequence of the interest companies and consumers have in efficient energy consumption and management. This work presents a detailed review of NILM methods, focusing particularly on recent proposals and their applications, particularly in the areas of Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), where the ability to determine the on/off status of certain devices can provide key information for making further decisions. As well as complementing previous reviews on the NILM field and providing a discussion of the applications of NILM in HEMS and AAL, this paper provides guidelines for future research in these topics.Agência financiadora: Programa Operacional Portugal 2020 and Programa Operacional Regional do Algarve 01/SAICT/2018/39578 Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through IDMEC, under LAETA: SFRH/BSAB/142998/2018 SFRH/BSAB/142997/2018 UID/EMS/50022/2019 Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La-Mancha, Spain: SBPLY/17/180501/000392 Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (SOC-PLC project): TEC2015-64835-C3-2-R MINECO/FEDERinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thirty Years of Machine Learning: The Road to Pareto-Optimal Wireless Networks

Future wireless networks have a substantial potential in terms of supporting a broad range of complex compelling applications both in military and civilian fields, where the users are able to enjoy high-rate, low-latency, low-cost and reliable information services. Achieving this ambitious goal requires new radio techniques for adaptive learning and intelligent decision making because of the complex heterogeneous nature of the network structures and wireless services. Machine learning (ML) algorithms have great success in supporting big data analytics, efficient parameter estimation and interactive decision making. Hence, in this article, we review the thirty-year history of ML by elaborating on supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning and deep learning. Furthermore, we investigate their employment in the compelling applications of wireless networks, including heterogeneous networks (HetNets), cognitive radios (CR), Internet of things (IoT), machine to machine networks (M2M), and so on. This article aims for assisting the readers in clarifying the motivation and methodology of the various ML algorithms, so as to invoke them for hitherto unexplored services as well as scenarios of future wireless networks.Comment: 46 pages, 22 fig